Sweet chilli shawarma-spiced seitan burger recipe
This is a fusion mix of two cuisines – Lebanese and American-Chinese. The burger comprises of shawarma-spiced seitan (a wheat gluten-based meat substitute) and an Asian-inspired slaw.
Tip: for best results, pre-slice and chill the slaw ingredients in the refrigerator so that, when you come to assemble them, the slaw is nice and cold.
Ingredients
For the sesame slaw- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tsp maple or agave syrup
- 2 tbsp tamari or low-sodium light soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
- 2 carrots, sliced into fine julienne strips
- 100 g red cabbage, sliced into fine julienne strips
- 100 g white cabbage, sliced into fine julienne strips
- 0.5 red onion, sliced into fine julienne strips
- 1 spring onion (scallion), trimmed and finely chopped
- 0.5 lime, juice only
- 1 handful chives, chopped
- 0.2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 0.2 tsp ground all spice
- 0.2 tsp garlic or onion powder, or vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cardamom
- 2 pinches dried chilli flakes
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 1 pinch cracked sea salt
- 330 g seitan pieces, drained and sliced
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 x 2.5cm (1in) piece of fresh root ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
- 2 vegan brioche buns or seeded wholemeal buns
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tsp sriracha
Details
- Cuisine: Lebanese/American-Chinese
- Recipe Type: Burger
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 5 mins
- Serves: 2
Step-by-step
- Begin by making the slaw. Mix together the tahini, maple or agave syrup, tamari or light soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and brown rice vinegar in a jar. Shake to combine.
- In a large salad bowl, combine the carrots, red and white cabbage, red onion and spring onion. Pour over the slaw dressing. Squeeze over some lime juice and garnish with chives. Set aside.
- Now prepare the shawarma-spiced seitan. In a small bowl, mix together the spices. Lay the seitan pieces out on a plate and evenly sprinkle the spice mix over them. Set aside until needed.
- Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking. Add the rapeseed oil and give the wok a swirl. Once hot, add the garlic and ginger and toss for a few seconds. Add the sharwarma-spiced seitan pieces and cook, stirring, for 20 seconds.
- Stir in the dark soy and sweet chilli sauces, and deglaze with the rice wine or sherry. Mix well and transfer the contents of the wok to a heatproof plate.
- Slice the buns in half and place them cut-side down on the wok for 20 seconds to toast. Remove from the wok and slather a layer of hoisin sauce on the insides of each bun.
- In a small bowl, mix together the vegan mayo and sriracha to make a vegan sriracha mayo.
- Spoon some sticky shawarma pieces on to the base of a bun. Top with some slaw, then add another layer of shawarma, and top with more slaw. Drizzle over some sriracha may and top with the other half of the bun. Repeat for the other burger and serve.
This recipe is from Asian Green by Ching-He Huang, published by Kyle Books, priced £20.00. Photography by Tamin Jones.
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